Friday, October 20, 2006

Meet Hodgkin's Disease

Most people have certainly been hearing this term, lymphoma, from others. Some hospital-drama television series usually would have an episode where a patient is diagnosed with lymphoma and most of us are just left hanging on what it really is. Suffice it to say that probably, most are aware that it is a kind of cancer. Cancer in what organ or body part? Caused by what? Many people fall short of enough knowledge about this type of cancer. But no worries, they really can't be accused of apathy. Lymphoma is actually a very rare type of cancer so it is understandable that awareness on is not as prevalent as to other cancer types.
Lymphoma is considered as a collective term for a variety of cancer. This cancer type has its origin in the lymphocytes or histiocytes -- very rare from the latter, though. Lymphoma starts in a B cell in lymph nodes. The cancerous cells reproduce themselves over and over again. The presence of these unnecessary cells sets the ground for the formation of cancer. This is because these cells do not die; they are not needed by the body in the first place, and they spread to other areas, causing further harm.
There are five clusters of specific cancer types under the umbrella concept of lymphoma. The World Health Organization grouped these specific cancer types according to their cell types. The first one is the mature B neoplasms. Second is mature T cell and natural killer cell (NK) neoplasms. Third is the immunodeficiency-associated Lymphoproliferative disorders. Fourth is histiocytic and dendritic cell neoplasms. Last is Hodgkin lymphoma or more commonly known as Hodgkin's disease.
The most popular of all is the Hodgkin's disease. It is named after Thomas Hodgkin, who described the disease in 1832. Hodgkin's disease is characterized by the abnormal growth of cancer cells in the lymphatic system. Specifically, the Reed-Sternberg cells are the ones involved in Hodgkin's disease. This disease is very rare that it accounts for only one percent of the total cancer cases or one for every 400,000, at least in America.
The most common symptoms of Hodgkin's disease are swollen, painful or non-painful lymph nodes. The swelling usually occurs at the neck or nape, armpit, or groin. Some systemic symptoms like drastic weight loss, skin itching, low-grade fever, night sweats, and fatigue can also be indicative of a Hodgkin's disease case. Enlargement of the spleen, splenomegaly, and/or enlargement of the liver can also happen. People from the age range of 15 to 34, and above 55 are the ones most susceptible to develop Hodgkin's disease.
Just like the other kinds of cancer, the causes of Hodgkin's disease is still unknown. But the factor most likely to contribute to the development of it is genetics. People who have relatives, distant or immediate, have been inflicted with Hodgkin's disease or other types for that matter, are at a very high risk. A deteriorated or damaged immune system, from a previous ailment or operation, is also a very high risk factor. Gender is believed to play a role, too, since most recorded cases are with men.
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the usual treatments for Hodgkin's disease. Radiation therapy is a high technology option, which makes use of high-energy rays capable of damaging cancer cells to stop their growth. This treatment option is administered only in hospitals and clinics, and under the permission of an expert doctor. Radiation therapy is effective for treating cases still on the early stage. A frequency of five therapy sessions in every week for several months is the average treatment period using radiation therapy. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, involves the use of drugs to kill the cancer cells. A combination of different drugs, which can work together, is the usual procedure being given by doctors when using chemotherapy. The drugs can be taken orally, or injected into arteries or even muscles for faster travel inside the body. The most popular drug combination for chemotherapy is the adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine combination called the ABVD regimen. There is a very high chance that Hodgkin's can be treated, provided that it is detected at an early stage and treated immediately with the most appropriate treatment option. Records have it that early detection and appropriate treatment gives an 85 percent chance of survival and cure.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006

Benzene Related Diseases

Benzene Related Diseases - Leukemia
There have been documented dangers of benzene for well over a century now. Even though benzene exposure often leads to leukemia, there are also many non-cancerous diseases that have been shown when exposed to elevated levels of benzene. Some of these other diseases include:
Myelodysplastic syndromes: also called ‘pre-leukemia’, this is a collection of diseases resulting in diminished blood production and can weaken the immune system. This can result in leukemia.
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: this is a disease affecting the lymphatic systems and shares many similarities with leukemia. It can eventually affect the bone marrow in addition to other organs.

Aplastic Anemia: this is a condition where the marrow in the bone stops producing enough blood cells to replace lost ones.
Even though these diseases are not leukemia, they have strikingly similar resemblances. The victims who suffer from them many times can’t tell the difference. Even with proper care and treatment, victims of these diseases face an uphill battle exposed to pain and suffering.
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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Leukemia 101: What You Need to Know About

Cancer in any form is a deadly disease. But when it affects the most vital components of the body then their fatality increases manifold. One such type of cancer is cancer of the blood, technically known as leukemia. Blood is the most important tissue of the body. It is the connective tissue which carries and supplies oxygen and other vital elements to the remotest parts of the body. The importance of blood can be understood by the fact that it is the most important of all the connective tissues which provide the nutrients and other vital elements to the body.
The most dangerous feature of leukemia is that it is related to the blood which has access to almost all body organs including the all important brain and heart. The incidence of cancerous cells being carried to the different parts of the body increases drastically due to this fact. Another striking aspect of the blood cancer is that it affects the leukocytes or the “white blood corpuscles” of the blood. These are the ones that protect the body from external infections. Thus the immunity of the body is seen to decrease drastically due to leukemia. The main effect of the disease is that the body starts producing infected and abnormal cells that hinder the function of blood i.e. carrying of oxygen.

Cancer Curing Brain Theory Concept, Part III

Cancer Curing Brain Theory Concept, Part III
As I continue my theory on curing cancer I wish to further CYA my position. I am not a medical doctor, thank god actually, because the malpractice insurance would drive me nuts. Also since I am not in the medical field at all you cannot sue me for this idea, concept of mine. Now then continuing Part III.
Chemo that is directly induced where needed might work, but we have better technology now and could use specific fluid dynamic beams of energy or radiation pointed at the exact source and area or even non-evasive light. Now then here is some additional information: it is now possible to send thoughts by fax through three-dimensional spatial representation of the brain in hologram video. We have hologram faxing available and Brain Surgeons are using this to show damage in the brain. The guy who thought of it had my friend in Malibu working for his company in LA. Now they can transmit this data by fax, three-dimensional faxing, like sending a cad cam design computer, but you can now fax it with special machinery.
Now we maybe able to use this same idea to send a thought. This relates to my theory of cancer curing so follow along. Wow, eventually the devise would be very small the size of a dime or so to send and receive data or thoughts by way of this devise, this is way in the future, but it could be available to the common man in 20 years or so. Now before this technology gets this small and nano-tech achieves these seemingly impossible feats we can use the basic concept to record a thought for my cancer experiment.

Leukemia-Lymphoma-Cancer